Former NFL player Jonathan Martin has sparked backlash after making a shock U-turn on allegations he was bullied by Miami Dolphins teammates.
Martin abruptly quit the Dolphins in 2013 amid claims he was being bullied. An NFL investigation led by Ted Wells later determined that Richie Incognito and two other offensive linemen – Mike Pouncey and John Jerry – persistently harassed Martin.
Drafted by the Dolphins in 2012, Martin missed multiple practices before reports at the time revealed he stormed out of the team’s cafeteria because of constant bullying by teammates.
The NFL’s investigation also uncovered how Martin checked himself into a hospital and his mom decided to fly in to Florida to be with him.
Incognito was suspended for the final eight games of the 2013 season and didn’t play throughout 2014 before joining the Buffalo Bills in 2015.
But now, in an interview with ESPN, Martin has sensational claimed he ‘never believed for a second I was being bullied’ and has blamed his parents.
Jonathan Martin has sparked backlash after making a shock U-turn on claims he was bullied by Miami Dolphins teammates
Richie Incognito was suspended for the final eight games of 2013 and didn’t play in 2014
He said: ‘I had a situation with my teammates that I wasn’t super happy about. But my mother had her own read on the situation.
‘I hadn’t even told my coaches, hadn’t told anyone and suddenly it’s on ESPN, right? I didn’t believe any of the stances I was taking, right, where I’m this victim.
‘I wasn’t a victim, right? And, again, it’s been a point of consternation.
‘My mother maybe in her mind — I can’t read her mind — she thought she was doing the right thing. It’s a story that I’ve been trying to fix for 10 years.’
Martin’s comments sparked a furious backlash from Incognito on social media, who accused his former teammate of ‘trying to ruin my career’.
Martin missed multiple practices before reports at the time also claimed he stormed out of the team’s cafeteria
He posted on X: ‘You tried to ruin my career over a lie! A decade later Jonathan Martin admits he was never bullied.
‘His mother pushed the narrative of bullying to the media. Jonathan Martin never believed in the stance his camp was taking during the Ted Wells investigation.
‘The NFL and the media ran with a false narrative, ruined careers, and moved on.’
Incognito then turned his anger on ESPN and their NFL insider Adam Schefter.
He continued: ‘He couldn’t cut it in the NFL so he quit and his mom blamed me. Legacy media pushed this narrative long and far. Too bad it was all a lie!
‘They lied to protect his money. He quit… the team had every right to claw back that money. His mom started the bullying narrative with @ESPN @AdamSchefter so that @MiamiDolphins wouldn’t go after his signing bonus!’
In reply to Schefter posting an excerpt of Martin’s interview, Incognito hit back and said: ‘Notable excerpt?! You tried to ruin my life over this bulls***’.
Martin’s mom, Jane, declined to speak to ESPN but father Gus commented: ‘His mom and I did strongly intervene to make sure he was protected.’
He also played part of a voicemail from April 2013 that he claims Incognito left for Martin at the time.
Martin was traded to the San Francisco 49ers in the months after the bullying allegations
It says: ‘Hey, wassup, you half-n***** piece of s***. I saw you on Twitter, you been training 10 weeks. I’ll s*** in your f***ing mouth. I’m going to slap your f***ing mouth, I’m going to slap your real mother across the face. F*** you, you’re still a rookie. I’ll kill you.’
After his suspension, Incognito joined the Buffalo Bills and played there for three seasons before spending two years with the Raiders in Oakland.
Martin, meanwhile, was traded to the San Francisco 49ers in the months after the bullying allegations were made.
He would play 15 games for the 49ers in 2014-15 but then retired the following offseason with a back injury after trying out for the Carolina Panthers.
